4A | Friday, December 4, 2015
Friday, December 4, 2015 | 3B
Operation Christmas Child shares the message of Christ through a shoebox 2B | Friday, December 4, 2015 By Savanna DiStefano Features Editor In the small town of El Llano in Hidalgo, Mexico, family photos are displayed on a handmade wooden table. Senior Juan Paredes Vera scanned the pictures during one of his weekly visits to the home, and he was drawn to a photograph of a Caucasian family amidst the array of tan faces. Vera, a Mexico City native, was then in his sophomore year at Harding and easily recognized the stairs from the lobby of the David B. Burks American Heritage Building in the backdrop of the portrait. He turned over the photograph and read a note indicating the family pictured attended The River church in Judsonia, Arkansas. The family from Mexico received the photo in a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child (OCC), a project through the Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian organization. The project collects boxes packed with toys and necessities and distributes them for Christmas to children in more than 100 countries according to the Samaritan’s Purse website. Vera handed out boxes to the family a week prior to discovering the photograph. “I don’t think it was a coincidence, I think it was God,” Vera said. “I gave that box, and I study here, and I go to that church … And that really touched me.” Vera works with La Casa de Dios la Buena Tierra (The House of God the Good Earth), an organization in
Mexico City that ministers to families in three underdeveloped towns about two hours outside Mexico City. The group of approximately 12 people visit the towns every Saturday and tends to physical and spiritual needs. The organization receives OCC boxes and gives them to the children for Christmas. “Every time you give a box, it’s an amazing experience because those kids just live to work,” Vera said. “They don’t play anymore; they don’t do kid stuff anymore because they have to work in order to survive … Most of them start to cry, and it’s just simple stuff that we can get easily in Wal-mart or wherever, and it’s a big deal for them.” Sophomore Savannah Donnell is a member of The River church and has been packing boxes since elementary school. She provided and collected OCC boxes on campus last month to help students get involved. “I really do believe in this ministry in that if you can change the life of a child, a door opens up to the family and (a door) opens up to the community,” Donnell said. “(OCC is) giving a gift to a child you may never meet, but you can make a big difference in their life.” Sophomore Michelle Troeglen Balmaceda, a student from Guanajuato, Mexico, said she packed an OCC box this year because she received one from her church when she was 12. “When I found out that I can do it here, it was amazing and a great way to give back, so I filled a box this
year and I really liked it,” Balmaceda said. “I received one and I feel it was a blessing for me and for my family, so I wanted to do it for someone else.” Balmaceda said she remembers receiving a toothbrush, a coloring book with crayons, toys and candy. She said she also liked the plastic container it came in and believes she still has some of the items at home. “It was cool to know that someone was thinking about me,” Balmaceda said. “It was from another place in the world, and they cared about me and my church.” Vera said families understand they are cared for when receiving OCC packages and are more receptive to hearing the message of Christ. He said OCC is a pathway to teach the Bible to people in the communities La Casa de Dios la Buena Tierra ministers to. Vera said he has developed many personal relationships through the ministry. He plans to return home after graduation and build a ranch where children can earn income and develop a mentality for achieving productive goals. A colorful booklet in the n ative language is included in the boxes given to the children. The national collection date for boxes was Nov. 23, though shoeboxes can still be built virtually at samaritanspurse.org year round. “All of that starts with one shoe box full of toys,” Vera said. “That’s Operation Christmas Child for me – to open up the doors for people like me who really are trying to help.”
COURTESY OF SAMARITAN’S PURSE
Children in Mexico receive an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. Boxes are packed by people across the world and distributed to children in more than 100 countries. Each box includes a colorful booklet containing the message of Jesus.
Students produce short film for festival Junior Matt Rice and Senior Ethan Sneed write, cast and direct horror video to premeire at film festival
By Garrett Howard Student Writer Two Harding students are producing a passion project: a short, psychological horror film, “Vestige,” which they hope to premiere at a film festival. According to junior Matt Rice, who is writing and directing the film, the idea to make a short film was conceived last year, but he did not have the resources to make it happen at the time. “I met up with my soonto-be director of photography, (senior) Ethan Sneed, and showed him my script,” Rice said. “We are both in a screenwriting class together, and when I showed him what I had written he was on board immediately.” Sneed said he fell in love with the idea as soon as he read the script. “What I’ve heard from other filmmakers is that you know a script is good if when you finish reading it, you think, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’” Sneed said.
“And that is exactly what happened to me.” According to Sneed, the premise of the film is essentially Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” meets Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” A man awakens in a room with no knowledge of any previous events, save the fact that he has a wife and needs to find her. Ominous writing is sketched into the walls of the room, warning the man of a dark force pursuing him, while he struggles in the search to relocate his memories and his wife. The film is currently at the end of the pre-production stage. Rice and Sneed recently held auditions for the lead role, with 16 students auditioning for the part. “We have told our professors about it, we made the chapel announcement and had the casting auditions, and it has kind of exploded from there,” Rice said. “So it’s kind of scary seeing how close we are to getting our
hands dirty and actually making this thing happen.” Throughout the pre-production process, Sneed said he has been excited and optimistic while remaining cautious about unforeseen circumstances. “ W hat I’ve learned through film projects that I’ve worked on in the past is that you don’t want to reach a point where you do not expect major obstacles, like last-second changes, agreements that get cancelled and the like,” Sneed said. “Thankfully, we have not encountered a major obstacle yet, but I’m trying to stay positive and prepared just in case.” Rice and Sneed said this is the biggest project they have been involved with, which creates a healthy combination of nervousness and excitement. The student filmmakers said that many details are still under wraps, but they will announce more as the film nears its final stages of development.
EMILY EASON | THE BISON
Senior Ethan Sneed and Junior Matt Rice work on the budget of their short film, “Vestige” in a study room of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Musical Communication. “Vestige” is a horror film, and the duo plans to premier it at a film festival once it is completed.
Harding decorates campus for Christmas
Wreaths, swags and lights help bring the spirit of the holidays to faculty and students on campus By Z’Ann Hardin Volunteer Writer The campus has a glow to it, and not just from the 100,000 plus lights that illuminate the front lawn. The semester is winding down, and though students may feel exhausted, there is a subtle feeling of excitement that mimics the first few weeks of the school year. However, the Christmas has not always been evident at Harding. The 700 wreaths and swags – straight wreaths hung on the poles – were not something that students would see on their walk to class, according to Vice President of Parent and Alumni Relations Liz Howell. She said Christmas was not a big deal at Harding until about 2006, after the David B. Burks Building was remodeled. Howell said the university has worked
over the years to keep each year’s celebration different, keeping a consistent theme. Howell said ultimately they want students and Searcy residents to enjoy the decorated campus. “It really started in 2006 with Dr. Burks,” Howell said. “He loves Christmas and wanted to make it something special here.” According to Howell, traditions such as the lights on the front lawn, hot chocolate and carriage rides really took root on campus after Harding faculty members visited the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Resort in Nashville, Tennessee, during Christmas time. Howell said they were inspired to bring that spirit back to the university, including the lights cascading from trees,
and the large Christmas trees that stand in the Heritage lobby. To achieve such a feat, Physical Resources begin hanging lights the first workday after Homecoming weekend;wreaths, swags and the Heritage decorations begin going up around two weeks before Thanksgiving break. “It is definitely a commitment from the university, but we know that the students really do appreciate it,” Howell said. Maintenance specialist and ‘Head Elf ’ Bob Barnett heads up the Christmas decorating operations. Both he and Howell said the decorations are his baby, and they are what brought him to Harding. Barnett was asked by a friend around Christmas time many years ago to assist in hanging lights
on campus. Barnett said he “fell in love with this place.” “There is something so special about this campus that you do not find out there in the ‘real world,’” Barnett said. Barnett said he recognizes the holiday spirit and the clear presence of God on this campus. Sophomore Allison Slagter said the stringed lights are her favorite Christmas decorations because they remind her of her home in Michigan. “The lights make me smile so big every time I see them,” Slagter said. “I’m used to very snowy Michigan winters, and to me these lights look like snow falling from the sky, and that just brightens my heart to think that even from so far away I can get a taste of home.”